S.F. chief: Bike robber shot by officers after refusing to drop knife

Updated 2:33 pm, Friday, February 27, 2015

Two San Francisco plainclothes police officers who killed a bicycle-robbery suspect in the Mission District opened fire after the man refused orders to drop a knife, authorities said Friday.

The suspect died at the scene of the shooting, which happened at 24th and Folsom streets about 9:45 p.m. Thursday. City officials were investigating the case on Friday but released few details, and they did not identify the dead man, saying they needed to first notify family members outside the country.

The confrontation began after dispatchers fielded a call about a man with a knife chasing a second man, police said. As the call was being dispatched, two plainclothes officers came across the suspect as he was trying to rob a victim of his bicycle, said Police Chief Greg Suhr, who responded to the scene.

The situation escalated, and “the officers, as they are only allowed to fire in defense of themselves or others, felt that one of those situations was in play, fired upon the suspect,” Suhr said.

“The officers drew their weapons, demanded for the man to drop his knife,” Suhr said. “He refused. We had several witnesses that heard this.”

The man was shot in the chest by the two officers, who fired a total of six rounds, police said. “Shots fired. Shots fired,” an officer reported on the police radio.

Neither officer was hurt. Both had department-issued stars visible on their outer garments, officials said. Their names were not released.

The bicycle owner wasn’t injured either and told Capt. Daniel Perea of Mission Station that he was grateful that the officers had intervened, Suhr said. “He thanked the captain, saying, 'You guys saved my life,’” Suhr said.

The shooting is under investigation by police and the district attorney’s office. The department will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Cesar Chavez Elementary School at 825 Shotwell St. to discuss the incident.

It was the second fatal shooting involving San Francisco police this year, with both incidents taking place in the Mission.